Even before Meredith Vieira takes her seat next to Matt Lauer on “Today” this week, it’s safe to predict she’ll be a better fit than the woman filling her old chair on “The View.”
Rosie O’Donnell is so overpowering – funny, empathetic and quick – she leaves the rest of the “View” pack slack-jawed. Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck (the “Survivor” player and conservative representative at the table) end up looking like backup singers to the main event.
The Rosettes don’t look happy about it, either.
When Katie Couric launched the seat shuffling that has led to these changes, she and then Vieira were the obvious winners. What is now clear is that Walters and Behar are the losers, in spite of the fact that O’Donnell caused the “View’s” viewership to jump by more than 1 million.
Walters seems slow in the mix, comedian Behar seems like a redundancy. “The View,” in syndication, locally at 9 a.m. on KMGH-
Channel 7, looks very much like a work in progress. They need to make progress quickly.
O’Donnell’s star power shines unmistakably whether she’s telling stories on herself, asking sincere questions of a guest, or just listening, waiting her turn to stand out.
There’s no hiding a star. The TV camera is a heat-seeking missile; the star simply radiates at a higher frequency.
Vieira, meanwhile, a veteran of nine years on “The View,” is appropriately humbled at the thought of her debut Wednesday on NBC’s “Today,” the legendary and most financially successful enterprise in television.
“I can’t freak out about what’s riding on me. When I think about it, it’s very nerve-
racking,” she told reporters on a teleconference last week. “There is a learning curve.”
She’ll debut at the same time as the new, larger set, designed for high-definition TV scrutiny.
The ratings have been solid since Couric left NBC’s morning moneymaker. In the first nine weeks after Couric’s departure, “Today” led ABC’s “Good Morning America” by 19 percent, compared with 17 percent in Couric’s last nine weeks, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Vieira is bound to be given the benefit of the doubt by longtime “Today” viewers.
The incoming co-host confessed to feeling “an amazing amount of butterflies,” considering how long she’s been in the business. But, in her straightforward style, she explained the reason: “It’s the “Today” show, HELLO!”
There’s no way to prepare other than to be well-read, she said. During her years on “The View” she wasn’t as diligent about following hard news, so now she’s immersed.
Vieira’s charm is in her authenticity. She says what she’s thinking.
On the subject of the altered CBS publicity shots of Couric that made the anchor look longer and slimmer, Vieira said simply, “That wouldn’t have happened to a man.” She sees residual sexism in the marketing goof. Overall, though, she’s confident women have made progress since she broke into broadcasting.
“I was a woman with a Portuguese name, that’s how I got in the door,” she said. The name passed as Hispanic, making her a “two-fer.” Nowadays, she said, “women are judged for talent and ability.”
What makes her authentic is perhaps something she shares with O’Donnell and Couric: “I take what I do seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously. I have a life.”
On the call, NBC executives confronted but did not discourage ongoing speculation about whether the network is considering adding a fourth or even a fifth hour to the program. All parties are confident that, as one producer said, “the glory days are still ahead.”
For his part, Matt Lauer said he wouldn’t be averse to extending the show, as long as the staff is increased accordingly. He and Vieira would presumably have less to do in each additional hour, to avoid burnout.
Couric by the numbers
In its first week, “The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” easily placed first, even as it trended downward over four nights. CBS ranked No. 1 with an average of 10.16 million viewers, beating “NBC Nightly News” and ABC’s “World News” by more than 3 million viewers each. CBS noted that compared with the same week last year, the “Evening News” performed 54 percent better among adults 18-49.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
